Audio Systems/car speakers make no sound although cd player turns on.

QuestionQUESTION: Good day. I have been checking online for weeks with my problem online and viewing what other similar questions there are on this site and have got no where. my car is a 96 chevy lumina that i put a cd player into. a few months ago when a song was playing i lost all sound but the cd player was still on. i figured out that this only happens when there was alot of bass at a higher volume so i turned the bass setting down and then i would just have to turn my car off and restart it to make the sound come back. one day i had completely no sound ever and upon starting my car i would hear a clicking sound once that would come out of my speakers. i tried out a different cd player in my car with the exact same results and i read here that if disconnect your battery for 3 minutes it would reset the system. that worked for a day i got all sound back but then it went back to the exact same as before. i took my dash apart and inspected wires and everything and i am so stumped. any suggestions?

ANSWER: My guess is the power amplifier has gone into protection mode at first, then it has eventually over ridden the protection circuits and the amplifier needs resetting or service.

If there is a separate power amp in the car you can reset it by removing the remote turn on wire for a few minutes and restart the amplifier. If the unit is a self contained dashboard mount the radio unit may need to be replaced.

Most often the cause of overload on the amp is too much bass for the design of the system and/or speakers that are too low impedance for the amplifier's drive circuit.

A good car radio install/repair shop handles these kinds of problems every day.

Let me know if there is more to the story....

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QUESTION: i thank you very much for the response. i should have said a slighlt little bit more. i installed 4 jl audio speakers into my car about 6 months ago but i dont have their packaging anymore. they improved the audio quality so much and i was able to turn it up louder and and it would still be clearer than my old stock speakers. i dono if this has any relevance but i thought i could include it. besides the cd player and speakers i havent added anything and only have very very basic knowledge so i am curious if your sayin that my car has its own power amp and if so where is it. i checked google and couldnt find a power amp location in my car online and seriously thank you for the response. i am looking for stuff i could try myself as a learning process but also because if i can do it myself why pay for someone else to do it. good day

AnswerWell, the add-on or replacement speakers may not have been impedance matched. For example, some of the older cars amps are designed for 8 ohm speakers. New car amps are are nearly always for 4 ohms. Likely the JL speakers you added are 4 ohm speakers as most of them are now days.

If your amp weather inside the dash or elsewhere in the car is designed for 8 ohm speaker loading them you have overloaded them by connecting 4 ohm speakers.

That is one possible problem. The other problem may be the amp output in the car is just not sufficient to drive the new speakers and over time they have overpowered the amp and it has failed by getting too hot too many times.

Expertise

Audio Design Engineer; systems, loudspeakers, cd/dvd players, etc. I am knowledgeable in all high end audio equipment and installations. MAKE SURE YOU GIVE A MAKE AND MODEL NUMBER AND CAR IF IT IS AN AUTO QUESTION. Note: I am getting some who ask good questions that take a lot of time to research but then the questioner fails to read the answer. Please don't ask questions unless you are seriously looking for an answer. If you find an answer to your question otherwise then let me know with your reply. Thank you.

Experience

Have been associated with audio design, standards, testing and component systems for over 40 years.

OrganizationsLife Fellow Member of Audio Engineering Society
Life Senior Member of Institute of Electronic and Electrical Engineers